Booksneeze Review of "Billy Graham in Quotes"

Title: “Billy Graham in Quotes” by Franklin Graham with Donna Lee Toney.

This book is organized by topics, 107 different topics to be exact.  Each topic is presented with an “anchor verse,” a Bible verse that addresses that issue.  Some of the topics covered include addiction, angels, character, children, death, hell, hope, imagination, integrity, and race, just to name a few.  Each quote is presented as one to five sentences in length.  They don’t just address the surface of the issue, but dig deeper for greater wisdom and understanding.  In addition, the quotes often give appropriate responses for these issues in our communities, churches, families, or our lives.  Brilliantly done.

I found “Billy Graham in Quotes” quite interesting.  His quotes challenge you to consider a wide variety of issues, to think more deeply about them, to understand why you hold the opinions that you do, and even inspires you to want to share the ideas behind his quotes with others.

Initially, I was concerned that the book would not be able to hold my attention because it’s not like a fiction book that makes you want to keep reading to find out what would happen next.  However, the organization of the quotes is done extremely well.  Even without continuity from quote to quote or topic to topic, almost every quote is so good that it grabs your attention and makes you keep reading to see what else Billy Graham had to say.  I definitely feel that Billy Graham successfully convened Biblical truth.  I would recommend this book to all my friends.  I think this book would be interesting to anyone who is curious about the issues addressed in the book, regardless of their faith.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Wonderful uniquenesses I love

For the past week, Nathan has been attempting to let go of whatever object he is using to support himself as he stands.  While he's been cruising for quite some time now, a few days ago, I saw him, let go of the recliner as he twisted and very smoothly went down on his hands and knees.  Then yesterday, he again let go for just a split second before dropping onto his bottom.  Today, he tried a couple of times, taking a couple tumbles after being unsupported for about half a second.  Then, on his 3rd try, he got it!!  My sweet baby went from sitting to standing with only a minor touch to my leg on his way up, then he stood there, swaying a little bumpily on his little feet as he check and balanced himself for about 30 seconds.  I was so proud of him!  Sweet Michael always encourages his little brother with "GOOD JOB, NATHAN!!!" while clapping his hands; his little face lit up joyfully.

 It's so funny to me how different Michael and Nathan are - and I love them so much for their differences!  Michael has always been most active, non-stop little buddy.  From the moment he started to move during his first few months of life, he hasn't stopped.  As soon as he could even attempt to roll over, diaper changes became wrestling matches.  Nathan, on the other hand, is a much calmer baby.  It has only been the last month or so that he has tried to flip over and crawl away during diaper changes!

While Michael loves to yell at the top of his lungs when he's having fun and is excited, Nathan's voice has a much more powerful volume, which he loves to exercise with loud screams to get what he wants.  Of course, the poor baby has had to be much louder to get the same attention that Michael would get with the smallest of sounds.

Sweet little Nathan is a bottomless pit when it comes to food!  I think he honestly eats 3 to 4 times the amount Michael eats on a daily basis.  After Nathan will eat a whole bowl of food (and when I say bowl, I'm not talking about a small little bowl!), he will still want to eat more of anything he sees anyone else still eating!  Everyday, Nathan eats oatmeal and at least 2 to 4 of the following vegetables: carrots, broccoli, celery, spinach, cauliflower, and tomatoes.  He will also eat chicken, turkey, pork, and fish.  Michael on the other hand, will go a whole day having only eaten 1/2 an egg, some rice, some noodles, and a lot of milk.  Of course, in general I can still get him to eat corn, peas, broccoli, or tomatoes, but he's become much more finicky and picky.  He'll almost never refuse cheese and cashews.  Sometimes he'll still eat chicken (particularly if it's Chick-fil-a!), but he refuses almost any other meat.  He does like shitaki mushrooms.  Then I can usually get him to eat spaghetti and meat sauce (where I might try to hide more veggies), potato patties (again, with veggies hidden), mac & cheese, and my fried rice, but none of these are guaranteed, either.  Fruit that he likes: bananas, grapes, cherries, blueberries, and strawberries - but again, he's not guaranteed to always eat it!

Other fun things going on over here: While Michael's favorite vehicle is still the train, he loves to watch "helkidopters" that fly overhead.  He also loves to play Nathan's new favorite game of "kit-a-boo."  Giraffes and Jaguars are his favorite animals, but he also likes "elpents."  And "Gotchew" is still his favorite game.

a Miracle of Healing

One of my dear friends, Colby McLaurin, will be having brain surgery tomorrow to remove a large tumor in his brain.  We are praying for a successful cure, a miracle, whether by medical or miraculous means.  Maybe God is encouraging my faith and reminding me of the power of prayer, but below I have recorded two miraculous healings that I have personally experienced first-hand as a testimony to God's grace, mercy, and power.  My prayer is that the Lord will receive the most glory in healing Colby, as well.

My first experience with a miraculous healing occurred in the Spring of 2010.  I was almost 4 months pregnant with Nathan the week before Easter when I had strained my lumbar back muscles.  I had constant spasms and intense pain for the entire week starting on Sunday, March 28th.  The pain was so bad that it made me nauseated and I could not keep anything down, not even water.  My OB/GYN gave me Tylenol/Codeine for the pain, which I was taking around the clock, alternating with the max dose of Tylenol I could take to come in right at 4000mg/24hrs.  Even with all these pain meds, I still was unable to function or eat.  I even used phenergan suppositories to keep from dry heaving constantly from the pain.  My Sister-in-law, Julia, and my Mother-in-law were incredible during this period, helping me out with Michael so I could rest.  My other Sister-in-law, Wendy, happened to come into town for Easter, so Saturday evening, April 3rd, she came over to our house, laid her hands on me, and prayed for healing, claiming healing for me in the name of Jesus Christ.  As soon as the prayer was over, I no longer felt any pain.  Not wanting to be disappointed if the pain returned, I cautiously admitted that I no longer felt pain, but it could have been because I had just taken another dose of the Tylenol/Codeine.  But when I woke up Easter morning pain free, I knew that I had experienced an Easter miracle!  The pain never returned!


On Saturday evening, two days ago, I had gone back out to the car to bring in a few things.  Michael came and stood right behind the door.  Not realizing he was there, when I swung the door open, it crashed into his left big toe and lifted the distal 5mm of his big toe from the nailbed, even folding it and creating a white line separating the lifted portion from the rest of the normal toenail.  I immediately scooped my crying baby boy into my arms, apologizing over and over again, and held him close.  Then I began to pray for his toe.  I put my hand over his hurt toe and continued to call on the name of Jesus Christ, asking for healing, claiming healing in Jesus's name, asking for a miracle, and asking for more faith to help my unbelief.  I checked on the toe several times as I continued to pray, and when I still saw that his toenail still bled, still had the white crease, and appeared bruised where it was bleeding below the nail, I returned to praying.  After about 5 minutes, Michael was no longer crying and wanted to play.  So I let him down and he ran off.  Other than telling Eric to be careful with the toe when he gave Michael his bath, I didn't think about it again until I went to help with Michael's bedtime.  We always read a Bible story and pray as a family.  This night, I brought a bandaid with me to put over the toe so that Michael wouldn't accidentally irritate or hurt it more during his sleep.  When I lifted Michael's left foot and looked at the whole, uncreased, unbruised, not bleeding big toenail, I set it back down and picked up his right foot, thinking I had the wrong foot.  But his right big toe was perfect, too.  I then got the privilege of thanking God with a full, grateful, and humbled heart that night.

Why did God answer these prayers in particular?  I don't know, but I think the answer is found in His character.  He wanted to teach me something; He wanted to remind me of the power of prayer; He wanted glory in these situations; He is loving; He is merciful; He can do all things; And on these days, He was willing.  That's reason enough for me!

One Jaguar and One White Tiger

Last Saturday (August 6th), Eric and I took the boys to the Houston Aquarium.  While I have to admit that I was not as impressed with the Houston Aquarium as I was with the Dallas World Aquarium, we still enjoyed a train ride through the shark tunnel, rode the ferris wheel, touched some surprisingly soft sting rays, and saw the two white tigers.  This time, instead of Michael being mesmerized with the white tiger like he had been with the jaguar, it was Nathan's turn to reach out and interact with the large pacing white tiger.  Unfortunately, I forgot my real camera, so I tried to capture a few shots with the camera phone, but I've included a better picture of the white tiger that I found on the internet.  The funny thing is that, according to the Chinese Zodiac (and just to clarify: we do NOT believe in any of that Chinese Zodiac stuff), Nathan is a white tiger - the tiger comes around every 12 years, but every 5th time, i.e. 60 years, the tiger is the rare white tiger.  So I call Michael "my little Jaguar" and Nathan "my little white tiger."  Well, ok, I call them "Sweetheart," but when they're older, it'll be "Jaguar" and "Tiger." :-)

The good picture of the white tiger:

Nathan reaching out to touch the tiger as he paced by.

Both boys did enjoy the tiger exhibit.

Of course, we had to ride the train!

Other things going on with us: Nathan now knows how to climb down the stairs feet first!  Of course, I still don't trust him to do it without my supervision, but I am very proud of him.  Today, he also pulled himself to a stand on one of our push toys and walked halfway across the room pushing the toy.  He can't stand or walk independently yet, and although he's cruised along couches and coffee tables, this is the first time that I saw him "walk" with a moving toy.  Michael recognizes most of the letters of the alphabet now and can associate many of their sounds, too!  Thank-you "Letter Factory" by Leap Frog!!  Of course, he's misinterpreted some of the sounds.  For example, the "L", he makes an "oh" sound!  "Q" he calls "Jew."  But for the most part, he's doing really well.  When I teach him the correct sounds, he stubbornly insists that his interpretation is the correct one, but when he's a little older, I'll work harder at the corrections.  Right now, it's hard not to laugh at how cute and funny it all sounds.

Favorite toys: Michael's is still his Take-Along Gordon & Percy trains that he got for Christmas.  Right now, Nathan's is a red and yellow car with light-up headlights that sings "Toot, Toot, Chugga, Chugga, Big Red Car" and "In the Big Red Car we like to ride through the rainbow and the countryside."

Exercise is Fun!!

I love being loved and wanted and needed!  Before I tell my story, let me just clarify that this is great only because Michael's only 2 1/2 years old.  If this happens 20 years from now, we'll have to have some serious discussions.  Anyways, it all started a few days ago on Saturday when Kathy and I were about to go out again after Eric got back from his conference and I had helped get Nathan to bed.  As we were heading towards the door, Michael ran towards me, grabbed me, and said "You can't leave me!  You can't leave me!"  So I explained to Michael that I was NOT leaving him, but just going out for a little while, but would be back later that night.  Of course, it still took a little bit of distraction and redirection to get out the door.

Well, it turns out that that wasn't just a one time thing.  A couple nights ago, Michael did the same thing again.  Since I was just running to the 99cent only store for a few things and it was still about 30-60 minutes before Michael's bedtime, I asked him if he wanted to go with me.  Of course he said, "yes!"  So we had a fun time shopping together.

Other fun things Michael says, "I did it!!!!" (shouted loudly, joyfully, and proudly.)  Instead of breakfast, Michael calls it, "Brekafes."  Whenever he's hungry and wants to eat, he says, "I want lunch."  And even as I type this, he's taking off all his clothes one-by-one saying, "It's too hot."  Nathan's most recent verbal accomplishment is, "Uh-oh!"

For fun and exercise, I took the boys to the Galleria on Thursday morning, to the little Children's play area.  This was Nathan's first time at a play area and he had a lot of fun!

In this picture, Nathan is trying to reach over and play with the same thing Michael is.  Of course, Michael doesn't budge, and even grabs Nathan's hand and takes it away, but all in all, they played well "together."

Nathan discovers these little cars and enjoyed climbing on to the little red one.

But Nathan's favorite thing was when he discovered crawling up the little incline of the Williams Tower.  He spent the rest of the time climbing up the slide, having me lift him back down on to the floor, and repeating.

Best of all was getting to follow his Big Brother!

There's a Chinese phrase, "ke sho" (I'm guessing on the ping-yin), but it basically means to collide or rub shoulders or be in tight spaces with someone.  That's what came to mind when I watched Michael and Nathan playing together.

This is where Nathan would sit and wait to be rescued!

And here's my brave boy climbing all over everything, jumping down from heights taller than himself!

I have definitely noticed that Michael is happier and more well-behaved when he's had a chance to exercise, run around till his head is soaked with sweat, and burn off all his excessive amounts of energy!  Summers in Houston are often so hot that I'm inclined to stay at home.  This means we don't hit the park on the daily basis like we did in the fall, winter, and spring.  I think it was starting to take a toll because Michael was starting to seem bored and sad.  But ever since taking him to the Galleria, he's bounced back to his super happy, joyful, playful self.  So, if you see me at the Galleria or other indoor play area all the time, now you'll know why!

Today we're going to the Houston Aquarium so Michael can ride their train!  Look for details in a future post!

addendum to "things my son says..."

So I couldn't remember this one when I typed my previous blog, but it's so hilarious that I had to add it.

About a week ago, while playing in his little closet under the stairs, Michael picked up a gold plastic coin that had come in one of his Easter Eggs and started to sing, "I like money, money" to the tune of Madagascar's "I like to move it, move it."  My first thought was, "what in the world?!"  Then I called Eric to ask him about it since I thought maybe Eric had been listening to some financial talk show on the radio and maybe that's where Michael picked it up from.  But Eric said no.  I've been trying to teach Michael that the words are "move it, move it," not "money, money," but for some reason, he's convinced that the words should be "money, money."  So then, since the tones are very similar, I tried to teach him "I like Mommy, Mommy," but he'll have none of that either!  Yikes!  I think I've got my work cut out for me!!